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Please help me buy my wife some nice perfume

post #1 of 29
11/29/12 at 7:57am
Thread Starter 
I'd like to buy my wife a nice bottle of perfume. I don't know what she likes but I looked in the bathroom and she has a nearly empty bottle of malachite and a half used newer looking bottle of Geurlane Insolence. I'm pretty sure she bought a smalle bottle of Chanel at some time too. Any recommendations would be highly appreciated.
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post #2 of 29
11/29/12 at 9:38am
lt would be useful to know a little more about what she likes. Do you ever compliment her on her perfume? That might be a way of starting up a conversation to find out what she might be looking for in a scent.

A nice thing to do would be to take her out for a sniffing trip around your local department store/mall to see what she likes. Combine it with a nice lunch somewhere & you've given her a lovely day out!

Welcome to basenotes!
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post #3 of 29
11/29/12 at 9:49am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by teardrop View Post

lt would be useful to know a little more about what she likes. Do you ever compliment her on her perfume? That might be a way of starting up a conversation to find out what she might be looking for in a scent.

A nice thing to do would be to take her out for a sniffing trip around your local department store/mall to see what she likes. Combine it with a nice lunch somewhere & you've given her a lovely day out!

Welcome to basenotes!

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping someone might have a recommendation based off the two perfumes she currently uses.
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post #4 of 29
11/29/12 at 9:59am
I suggest checking out the Dior line.
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post #5 of 29
11/29/12 at 11:35am
Perhaps Shalimar.
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post #6 of 29
11/29/12 at 12:08pm
I do know that she shouldn't keep her perfumes in the bathroom. The humidity and temperature change will make them go bad quickly. My friends always wondered why their perfumes and colognes weren't the same after a year until I told them this.

I always want to surprise my wife as well. But whenever I try it with perfume, it never works out. I agree with teardrop that she will probably like trying on perfumes. To be sneaky, stop by a counter before a dinner date just to have something different and nice to wear. If she samples a few then sprays one on she likes, you will know what to get her.
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post #7 of 29
11/29/12 at 12:20pm
Guerlain - Samsara.

Absolutely GORGEOUS on women, trust me + try it.
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post #8 of 29
11/29/12 at 12:33pm
Do you know what Chanel she bought? That might help too.

Otherwise, if you're pretty confident that she'd like whatever you buy, maybe go with L'Heure Bleu by Guerlain (I read somewhere that Insolence was Maurice Roucel's tribute to LHB) or Apres L'Ondee, which also has a pretty violet note.

You might also want to try Prada Infusion d'Iris and Guerlain's Samsara. Not sure why I'm thinking of those, but for some reason they popped into my head.
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post #9 of 29
11/29/12 at 12:53pm
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Tom Ford Black Orchid
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post #10 of 29
11/29/12 at 12:53pm
I agree with everyone else that you should definitely have her try things out. However, I recommend looking at (depending on her age and taste), Womanity by Thierry Mugler, Shalimar by Guerlain, or a chanel (cristalle perhaps). Oh, and maybe Flowerbomb, though I rarely hear it talked about nor have I smelled it (I have not smelled any of the others I've suggested either, save cristalle which is one of my mother's favorites).

It's generally hard for me to make feminine suggestions, especially ones that are strictly female fragrances marketed to women. If you are looking for something a little unisex, consider her trying (in the niche and more expensive realm): Virgin Island Water by Creed, Silver Mountain Water by Creed, Noir de Noir by Tom Ford.
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post #11 of 29
11/29/12 at 2:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivibezz View Post

Guerlain - Samsara.

Absolutely GORGEOUS on women, trust me + try it.

This has worked out for me twice and with different women at that.
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post #12 of 29
11/29/12 at 3:38pm
Guerlain Cuir Beluga is fantastic on women.
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post #13 of 29
11/29/12 at 4:59pm
Hm. I once bought my GF Acqua Santa / Holy Water by AbdesSalaam Attar Profumo (look it up in the reviews) a very nice, light and well blended orange scent.
She didn't like it. She joked about the name and said something about it perhaps being suitable for someone needing an exorcism. She was right, i spilled a few drops on myself and now she's my Ex-GF. God be praised!

My kid sister lives out of state. I bought her L'Heure Bleu by Guerlain for her birthday. Unfortunately her taste was not as sophisticated as Kagey's. Sis thought it should be used by octogenarians. Great! So much for a classic. I'll get her 'Pink Sugar" when she turns 65.

Neither of these buys were 'wrong' just wrong for the woman in question, which means I'm 100% in agreement with teardrop and Nosebud. Unless you get her to smell the blasted juice first, you're playing Russian Roulette; no matter how magnificent the rest of us think the perfume may be.

You could even be sneakier than Nosebud suggests and tell her that you're thinking of something for yourself and want her opinion. Who knows? You might end up getting her Eau d'Orange Verte by Hermes? Or wearing it yourself. It's a 5 star scent IMHO

Other than have her smell it, there's no way to tell from this site. I do believe there are free Tarot and I Ching sites on the www. There's also http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~ssanty/cgi-bin/eightball.cgi

My prayers are with you.

And welcome to BaseNotes!

Cheers,

Mario
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post #14 of 29
11/29/12 at 5:21pm
some great quality scents to try are Prada Infusion Iris Absolue, Bottega Veneta, Chanel No 5 Eau Premiere, Bulgari Femmes
good luck!
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post #15 of 29
11/29/12 at 11:06pm
A couple of wonderful scents (that are affordable):

Caron Montaigne
So Elixir EdP by Yves Rocher

Both are divine on my wife's skin and so complimented - year-round and both can wear well in the winter!

Cheers,

ericrico
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post #16 of 29
11/30/12 at 12:38am
You can't go wrong with Chanel. Coco and No. 19 Poudre are my 2 faves. Burberry Classic is also a nice fragrance that a lot of women like, it has lots of vanilla. Hard to point you in a really good direction without more info. Take her to a perfume counter and make a mental note of what she likes and then get that for her when she' not expecting it, she'll love that you remembered.
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post #17 of 29
11/30/12 at 1:52am
Guerlain Shalimar Parfum Initial
Creed Love in Black
Creed Love in WHite
Hilde Soliani Ti AmoTulipano

ALL of these are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!

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post #18 of 29
11/30/12 at 7:29am
Thread Starter 
All of the recommendations are truly appreciated. I want it to be a surprise so ill probably try one of the recs. has any one tried the new coco noir? Do you like it?
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post #19 of 29
11/30/12 at 2:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Presentguy View Post

has any one tried the new coco noir? Do you like it?

Didn't care for it myself, but I fully expect to smell it on everyone after Christmas.
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post #20 of 29
11/30/12 at 2:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kagey View Post

Didn't care for it myself, but I fully expect to smell it on everyone after Christmas.

Probably because a lot of men will purchase for their significant others, not knowing much about it. I was speaking with an SA at a major department store, and she is extremely honest. She was telling me, this one one of the least successful launches she can remember. Lots of sniffing, but not a bunch of purchasing.
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post #21 of 29
11/30/12 at 3:08pm
I have Coco Noir and I like it. I think a lot of people were pretty disappointed that it was so much like Coco Mademoiselle and not deep and rich like the name noir implies. If you go into testing it without any preconceived ideas or expecting it to be something it's not, you'll find it's a very nice fragrance. Is it exceptional like some of the Exclusifs, no it's not, but it's better than people have made it out to be.

Be sure to try the Guerlain Shalimar Initial before deciding. I love this one, it's far more wearable than Shalimar and I love the bottle.
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post #22 of 29
11/30/12 at 3:59pm
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It depends on her taste more than yours. I will suggest Kelly Caleche EDP by Hermes, read the reviews.
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post #23 of 29
11/30/12 at 4:46pm
Cinnabar, one of the best ever.
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post #24 of 29
11/30/12 at 7:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hednic View Post

Perhaps Shalimar.

A bit of a risk imo. If she likes insolence there is a good chance she will like Guerlain apres l'ondee, Guerlain l'heure bleue and Frederic Malle eau d'hiver (well, these all contain Heliotropine and share some DNA, although not all of them have violet).

I would also add Cuir Beluga to that selection (expensive, dry vanilla, heliotropine, almost no leather).
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post #25 of 29
12/1/12 at 12:01am
I went on a note hunt:

Malachite:
peony, water hyacinth, sandalwood, musk, pepper, vanilla and green mango.

Insolence:
Red Fruit, Iris, Violet

Coco Noir:
Grapefruit, Bergamot, Rose, Jasmine, Indonesian patchouli, Sandalwood, Brazilian Tonka bean, White musk

Shalimar Initial:
bergamot, orange, jasmine, rose, patchouli, musk, tonka bean, and vanilla

While I disapprove of pink and purple flankers, I've smelled both Coco Noir and Shalimar Initial, and I think that they could work for someone who likes the notes of Insolence and Malachite - but keep in mind that I haven't smelled Malachite and don't remember Insolence!

Note also that I'm referring to Shalimar Initial, the one in the pink bottle, and not Shalimar, which I see as a much higher-risk scent.

Edited to add: However, it's better by far to take her on a sniffing trip - I _don't_ advise surprising someone with a perfume that you don't already know they like. I'm just offering the above advice if you're determined all the same.
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post #26 of 29
12/1/12 at 12:04am
Flowerbomb

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post #27 of 29
12/2/12 at 8:04pm
If you are deeply in love and rich...Cuir Beluga.
If you are deeply in love and not rich Hypnotic Poison.
I'm sure she would enjoy either
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post #28 of 29
12/3/12 at 7:37am
I like Samsara and I like Rush on a woman. But my wife prefers OV. So now I don't buy her perfumes anymore but give her the option to mooch off my collection. Perhaps you could try a similar arrangement.
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post #29 of 29
12/4/12 at 2:14am
Chanel N°5 Eau Premiere
Miss Dior Le Parfum
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